Benfica legend on pre-Real Madrid win: "It was tradition..." | OneFootball

On the road to the final of the 1964/65 European Cup, Benfica eliminated Real Madrid, Puskás’ team, in the quarter-finals. In the first leg, on February 24, 1965, the Eagles thrashed the Merengues 5-1 at the old Estádio da Luz. António Simões, who scored one of the goals, revealed that the team went to the cinema, at Tivoli, the night before the match.

“It was customary to do this when we were in training camp, to distract ourselves and get out of the players’ home. With this, we wouldn’t sleep in the afternoon and had no trouble sleeping at night,” revealed the legendary player of the red club to the newspaper Record.

José Augusto, two-time European champion with Benfica, also watched the film, and before the session began, they showed images of a Sporting-Varzim match and of the Zoo, with lions on screen, and the former player took a jab at their eternal rival. “Not even here does Sporting leave us in peace. Enough with so many lions already.”

António Simões also revealed to the newspaper that Benfica has what it takes to beat the ‘Merengues’ and told the team to “not be afraid. They have everything to gain. Free yourselves and take risks with awareness,” leaving an explicit request to the team led by José Mourinho.

It should be remembered that the match between the Eagles and the Galácticos is scheduled for this Wednesday, January 28, at 8:00 PM, and will be broadcast on Sport TV, the official Champions League channel in Portugal. In addition, UEFA has appointed Davide Massa, an old acquaintance of the Special One, as the referee for the match.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.